Brandwave

Culture Trip vs Rick Steves:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Rick Steves had more branded searches than Culture Trip among travel guide platforms worldwide. Rick Steves had about 90,500 branded searches, while Culture Trip had 2,900. Rick Steves made up 1.7% of all travel guide platform searches we track, and Culture Trip accounted for 0.06%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about travel guide platforms, Rick Steves appeared in three of the five answers and Culture Trip in one. Rick Steves was mentioned before Culture Trip in two out of three answers that named either.

Among travel guide platforms worldwide in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Rick Steves, about 31 searches for every 1 for Culture Trip

Rick Steves 90.5K searchesCulture Trip 2.9K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Rick Steves, mentioned in 3 of 5 answers, Culture Trip in 1

Rick Steves in 3 of 5Culture Trip in 1 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Rick Steves, named ahead of Culture Trip in 2 of 3 answers

Rick Steves first in 2Culture Trip first in 1

Follow Culture Trip vs Rick Steves and get free monthly updates on what changed

By continuing you'll get index updates and occasional product news from Brandwave. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy

Track your brand against a rival →

Top travel guide platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Rick Steves was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Culture Trip was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Rick Steves was listed before Culture Trip in two out of three answers that named either.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Lonely Planet1st
  2. Wanderlog2nd
  3. Rick Steves3rd
  4. Tripadvisor4th
  5. Atlas Obscura4th
  6. Culture Trip6th
  7. Rome2Rio7th
  8. Time Out8th
  9. Wikivoyage–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Lonely Planet5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Wanderlog3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Rick Steves3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Tripadvisor2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Rome2Rio2 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Atlas Obscura2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Time Out1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Culture Trip1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Wikivoyage0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about travel guide platforms

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 21, 2026.

Is Culture Trip or Rick Steves more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Culture Trip and Rick Steves by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine travel guide platforms we track, month by month, from English-language searches worldwide.

Culture Trip and Rick Steves among travel guide platforms worldwide, by month

Share of searches by month for Rick Steves, Culture Trip. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthTripadvisorRome2RioTime OutWanderlogLonely PlanetAtlas ObscuraRick StevesWikivoyageCulture Trip
Oct 202577.5%8.5%3.8%3.1%2.6%2.1%2.1%0.28%0.08%
Nov 202577%8.5%3.8%3.1%3.1%2.1%2.1%0.28%0.07%
Dec 202575.5%8.3%4.5%3.7%3%2%2.5%0.33%0.07%
Jan 202676.5%8.4%4.6%3.8%2.5%1.7%2.1%0.34%0.07%
Feb 202677.5%8.5%3.8%3.8%2.6%1.7%1.7%0.34%0.07%
Mar 202672.4%9.7%3.6%5.3%4.4%1.9%2.4%0.21%0.06%
Apr 202674.8%10.1%3.7%4.5%3%1.7%2%0.22%0.07%
May 202680.1%7.2%3.2%3.9%1.8%1.8%1.8%0.24%0.06%
Jun 202681.2%7.3%3.3%3.3%1.5%1.8%1.5%0.2%0.05%
Jul 202680.6%7.3%3.2%3.2%1.8%1.8%1.8%0.24%0.05%
Aug 202680.4%7.2%3.2%4%1.5%1.8%1.8%0.19%0.05%
Sep 202677.8%7%4.7%4.7%2.1%1.7%1.7%0.28%0.06%

How has the Culture Trip and Rick Steves comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for travel guide platforms worldwide in September 2026?

3 changes

  1. In September 2026, Lonely Planet overtook Atlas Obscura and Rick Steves to rank 5th among travel guide platforms worldwide, with 2.1% of the searches.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Culture Trip worldwide fell 34.1% over 12 measured months, from 4.4K to 2.9K in September 2026.

  3. Estimated monthly branded searches for Rick Steves worldwide fell 17.7% over 12 measured months, from 110K to 90.5K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Culture Trip’s and Rick Steves’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Culture Trip

1 branded search term

  • culture trip

Rick Steves

1 branded search term

  • rick steves

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among travel guide platforms

Creator with pink hair and a pink jacket

Put your own brand in this comparison

Brandwave tracks your branded demand next to the rival you actually watch, with your campaigns, spend and outcomes on the same timeline.

Start free